Made: Sunki Dress

I fell in love with the Sunki dress pattern as soon as Figgy's released it this fall. I prefer simple, clean-lined clothing, and this little dress is all that and more. I love the way the side panels swoop down into the pockets. And I adore the ikat fabric from the sample above so much that I tracked it down and bought the rest of the bolt for some future awesome project (yet to be determined).

I made my "trial" Sunki out of a soft green corduroy from Bolt. I originally had some contrasting fabric for the side panels but I chose not to use it at the last minute. The pockets were the trickiest part of the dress to sew but the directions are clearly written and the diagrams were helpful. I ended up pinning the whole panel together before I sewed a stitch just to make sure I had everything lined up correctly.

I made the 2-3 size and it fits my tall two year old perfectly through the shoulders. It's a tad short in length so I will make the next one a size up. If I am going to sew clothes for the Sprout, I want her to be able to wear them for more than a few months. She is aptly nicknamed since she seems to sprout up when I'm not looking and suddenly need longer pants or bigger shoes.



Since I didn't use a contrasting side panel, I highlighted the side panel seam with the asterisk-looking fancy stitch on my Janome. I finished off the cuffs of the sleeves with the same stitch. I am really happy with the results. I can't wait to make another one with a more adventurous fabric choice.

I also bought some knit to make the leggings that come with the pattern. The Sprout and I do love a dress with leggings. It's a combination that works much of the year here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm thinking this little dress and leggings lends itself to be made in multiples so you can be sure you'll be seeing more of the Sunki around here.